Trace-carrier.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WVILLIAM E. DIPPERT, OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

TRACE-CARRIER.

SPECIFICATIN iorming part of Letters Patent N 0. 701,858, dated J une 10, 1902.

Application filed March 20. 1899. Serial No. 709,776. (No modal) T0 all who7n it may conccrn:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. DlPPERT, acitizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Des Moines, Polk connty, Iowa,

have invented certain new and nseful Im' provements in Trace-Carriers, of which the following is a specification. f

The object of this invention is to provide improved means for snpporting the ends of traces, trace-chemins, and the like on the top of a harness when detachd from a vehicle.

My invention may be employed on an .or l dinary harness, but is especially adapted for" vided on opposite sides of its conter Wth a lateral arm, each arm dependingdownwardly, having its end beveled and terminating below the plane of the upper portion of said base-ring.

My invention consists, further, in the construction, arrangement, and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claim, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a planshowing my invention applied and a cockeye mounted therein as reqnired;for practical use. Fig. 2 is a plan of the trace-carrier detached from the harness. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the indicated line 3 3 01: Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is avertical section on the indicated line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

In the construction of the device as shown the numeral 10 designates a wear-leather of approximately circular form and provided with forwardly-projecting tips 11 12. A tracecarrier is provided and constructed of a ring 13, an arched cross-bar 14 fixed at its ends to and extending diametrically of the ring,and laterally and downwardly projecting arms 15 16 on the central portion of the arched crossbar. The central portion of the arched crossbar is considerably above the horizontal plane of the ring 13, and the initial or integral ends of the arms 15 16 extend laterall horizontho wear, leather.

tally thcrefrorn a slight distance only and are 'bent downwardly to form hooks or arms in upright positions terminating freely, in a horizontal plane slightly below the horizontal plane of the ring. The longitudinal planes of the depending portions of the arms 15 16 diverge slightly. The trace-carrier islocated parallel with and above the wear-leather 10,

and loack-straps 17 18 and hip-straps 19 20 21 22 are looped about and embrace the ring 13 and are stitched in their doubled portions to securely attach them to the ring, the backstraps also being stitched to the tips 11 12 of In mounting the tracecarrier the arched cross-bar thereof is located longitudinally of the wear-leather in order tli.t When the harness is mounted on a horse said cross-bar will lie approximately parallel With the backbone of the horse. A crupper end 23 is doubled upon itself and has one end portion split t0 s'traddle the rear end of the cross-bar 14, the looped portion of the crupper end embracing the ring 13, the end portions of the crupper end being conjonctively stitched to the rear portion of the Wearleather. By the use of the crupper end, in conjunction with the back-straps 17 18, I am enabled to retain the trace-carrier in the desired position on the wear-leather. When employed on a lighterharness of ordinary form, the trace5carrier would be made of smaller d iameter provided'with a crupperend connecting its rear portion to the weanleather,

and its forward end wonld be connected to the wear-leather. basplit tip on the rear end of the back-strap,in this instance the wearleather beingformed with a single forwardly projecting tip to which the split extremity of the back-strap would be stitched..

In practical use the ring of' the trace-carrier is raised from the wear-leather by the under portions of the looped ends of the straps, thus providing a space between the eiztremitics of the arms 15 16 and the upper surface of the wear-leather, such space being. less than the diameter of the 'eXtremiti'es of the cockeyes or links employed therewth. The

traces are supported when not attached to a vehicle by inserting the extremities of the cockeyes or trace-chains between the lower ends of the arms 15 16 and the upper surface of the wear-leather, the cockeyes or links embraeing the body portions of the arms and being restrained thereby, it being understood that the wear-leather will yield downwardly slightly to permit the manual insertion and romoval of the cockeyes. Furthermore, the entire trace carrier will yield upwardly slightly during the manuel insertion or removal of a oockeye, because of the flexible mounting of the trace-carrier by means of the straps 17, 18 and crupper end 23; but the degree of separation and fiexibility of connection between the wear-leather and trace-carrier is not suflicient to permit the accidental removal or displacement or jarring release of the eoekeyes or either of them. Withont the wear-leather the mounting of the cockeyes and their engagement with the arms 16 would be inseeure and nnstable. By using two hooks or arms 15 16, located on opposite sides of the central portion of the cross-bar, I am enabled to place or remove either cockeye, as desired. By reason of the arehed formation of the cross-bar 14 and the location of the arms 15 16 at the central portion thereof I provide for the level and eomely positioning of the cockeyes in the trace-carrier and also strengthen the device against breakage should the horse roll thereon or strike the same against a head-beam or other obstruction.

Commercially the trace-carriers, as shown detached in Fig. 2, will be sold to the trade boxed in lots of six or twelve, and I have so constructed them that they will nest in the boxes, as is obvious from an examination thereof.

I claim as my invention A tracecarrier comprising a single imperforate base-ring, a single arehed bar extending across the center of the ring With its ends integral With the inner portion of said ring, said cross-bar provid ed on opposite sides at its center with a downwardly-extending straight arm the ends of whieh terminate beyond the side of the said arched bar and below the plane of the upper portion of the base-ring, substantially as shown and described.

Signed by me at Des Moines, Iowa, this 24th day of Febrnary, 1899.

WILLIAM E. DIPPERT.

lVit nessos:

J. F. GROAT, S. C. SWEET. 

